There is something about paper that should make you mad!

One of the more interesting educational sessions of the JCK Jewelry Show for me was the presentation by Richard Drucker of GemWorld.

It was about ten issues facing the industry today and one of them was the issue of over grading by some of the labs. I wish he had done a more inclusive comparison, but he included only GIA, EGL USA and EGL Israel. His comparisons are pretty damning as they are, but I think inclusion of AGS (which is normally higher priced than GIA) and IGI would also have been informative.

Here is the information that was shared. The stone being compared is a 1ct G-VS2 with none to slight fluorescence.. In his comparison Mr. Drucker listed the high, low (range) and then the average, mean and mode of the stones looked at. For simplicity I am only going to list the Mode.

Using GIA as the benchmark, and thus 100% EGL papered stones sell for -27% of what GIA sells for, ie if you paid $100 for the GIA stone you would pay $73 for the EGL USA.

For the same stone papered by EGL Israel the cost would be -40% ie $60 for the same grade of stone that would cost you $100 from GIA.

Worse is the FACT that this same comparison two years ago had the same stone selling for -25% rather than today's -27% from EGL USA. From EGL Israel the spread from two years ago has changed from -33% to today's -40% meaning that in the opinion of retailers the grade disparity is getting worse. Grade creep is here and it is going to keep creeping for those second and third tier labs.

One wholesaler asked by Mr. Drucker why he carried stones he knew to be over graded said it was because his retailer clients demanded it of him.

Why do they do this?

BECAUSE THE RETAIL CLIENT BELIEVES THESE BOGUS PAPERS AND BUY THEM FOR THE "BARGAINS" THEY OFFER. Thus many retailers demand a steady supply of these insidious "certificates" to feed to their unsuspecting victims.

Sad. Very sad.

Does this make you mad?

Wink

How long until we run out of diamonds???

Here is an unsettling thought.  BHP Billiton and Oro Tinto, two of the largest diamond mining companies in the world are wanting out of the diamond mining business as it is not profitable enough for them to bother with, constituting less than 2% of their profits.  They will either sell or close those operations at some point in the future.  

Further the existing mines are becoming less productive and there are no major new finds on the horizon.  

The scariest part of the educational sessions I have been in this morning is the estimate that we will be out of diamonds (natural) WITHIN THE NEXT 50 TO 70 YEARS!

I will not be here by then, baring substantial medical breakthroughs in longevity, but I really hope for the children and grand children of my clients that this does not come to pass.  

It is, however, something to keep in mind while we are complaining about the current increases of diamond prices.  Someday we will look back on today's prices and wish we could have bought more diamonds.

More to follow...

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Wink Jones

Winfield's

5120 W. Overland Rd #300

Boise, Idaho 83705

Wink phone 800 524-7904 Google Voice is 208 918-1929 If you call this number it will ring in both my office and on my cell, so I will get your call whether or not I am in the office.

Melissa Phone 908 637-8199

Getting ready to go

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here Holy Moly, How do I get so backed up with things to do.  It is 9:40 and I have to: Meet a client at 10 to deliver a ring. Meet my speakers for the Rotary lunch at 11:45 Ship out several jobs for clients by 2:00PM Take a photo of some stones next to a dime for a client by 2:15 Leave for the airport by 2:30 Oh CRAP, I have not packed yet.  I think I should just panic now and get it over with... Wink

Wink has a brand new blog

I decided it was time to start a new blog and to be more active with it than I have been in my old blog.

This is my first post and I hope that you will enjoy it.  I will attempt to blog at least once per week and to find interesting things to say, although I intend to blog at least once per day this next few days as I am leaving for the Las Vegas Jewelry show tomorrow afternoon.

My first stop will be to the "Cut Band Camp" hosted by Peter Yantzer, the executive director of the American Gem Society Laboratory.

The American Gem Society Laboratory has spent a great deal of time developing new software to allow the public to analyze the cutting of a diamond that they are considering, and the software is FREE to both the trade and the public.

More on this tomorrow after I have met with the great group of leaders who will be at this BBQ and Diamond Cutting Band Camp tomorrow.

Wink